iPhone 4S Launch: The Day’s Must-See Photos

Today's the day we've been anticipating for months: iPhone 4S launch day. Apple fans hit retailers in droves to get their hands on the new handset, braving wind, rain and, perhaps most dangerously of all, other Apple aficionados.

The iPhone 4S has shown phenomenally strong pre-order numbers, and by the looks of it, first-day sales won't be too shabby either (some estimates are pegging sales of over 4 million for this weekend alone). Some lucky German folks who pre-ordered the phone received their units several days early. Those who missed out on the chance to pre-order, but still wanted to get the handset on opening day, had to stand in line to pick up the 4S this morning.

Here are some of our favorite iPhone 4S launch day images from around the world.

Above:

Japanese Apple fans donning iPhone-cut-out headpieces wait in line in front of a Softbank Mobile Corp. storefront in Tokyo on launch day. The cardboard-based hats don't look too comfortable, but at least they make you stand out in a crowd (and get your photo taken by the press). (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye)

The excitement cannot be contained! An overjoyed customer leaps into the arms of an Apple employee outside the Covent Garden Apple Store after purchasing the 4S. I bet he's psyched about the phone's dual-core A5 processor, which will allow games like Infinity Blade II to look stunningly detailed. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Way better than a red carpet: Apple employees at London's Covent Garden store location welcome customers with clapping and high-fives as they head into the store. The only thing that's missing here is confetti raining down from the sky. And of course, 4S boxes in hand.

Did you see that iFixit already tore apart the iPhone 4S for our ogling pleasure? (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

On Thursday evening Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak announced he was the first in line for the iPhone 4S at the Los Gatos, Calif. Apple Store. This year, Woz decided to go with a Verizon iPhone. Wozniak had to wait 20 hours to get his unit when the store opened this morning. Here, he holds up his prize as he makes his getaway on his signature Segway. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

Really? Is that a bumper on your 4S? You know you don't need that anymore, right? Bostonian Elliott Johns shows off his new iPhone 4S in front of an Apple Store location in Boston on Friday.

The 4S features a redesigned antenna system that can intelligently switch between two antennas to both transmit and receive, and eliminates that pesky Antennagate issue that plagued its predecessor. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

In Philadelphia, people stroll past a sign in front of an ING Direct Cafe offering a free drink if customers come in and show their new iPhone.

4S users can ask voice-controlled AI Siri where the nearest or best coffee around is, but she can't tell you where the cheapest spot is (yet). Good thing this place put out a sign. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Customers patiently wait in line to purchase the 4S in front of a makeshift memorial to Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, who passed away last week, outside of a Philadelphia Apple Store. Similar Post-It based displays — some accompanied by roses, candles and apples — appeared on Apple Store windows across the nation after news of his death. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

No, this isn't a scene from #OccupyX. This is the scene in front of the Munich, Germany Apple Store prior to its doors opening on Friday.

If I were one of the first few in line to get my 4S, I'd head back outside and snap a picture of the suckers still waiting to make it into the store with the handset's souped-up 8-megapixel camera. Then I'd post it to Instagram, and hightail it over to Philadelphia so I could take advantage of that free coffee. (Christian Hartl Maier / DAPD)

"We've got spirit, yes we do, we've got spirit, how about you?!" Or so it would seem. Apple Store employees applaud to their loyal Apple fans waiting in line in Omaha, Nebraska. Judging by the hoodies and scarf, it looks like it was a chilly morning in the cornhusker state. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

You can look, but you can't touch: A crowd of people wait in line to buy the 4S outside New York's Upper West Side Apple Store. Those toward the front of the line could see into the warm, inviting glow of the store, but couldn't get a new phone into their hands until Apple actually opened its doors. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Apple Stores weren't the only places you could pick up an iPhone 4S on launch day. AT&T, Verizon and Sprint locations, as well as retailers like Radio Shack and Best Buy, were also stocking the handset. This photo, taken in front of a Philadelphia area Sprint store, looks a lot less chaotic than in front of Apple Stores. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)